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Hall of Wonders
These are strange times, indeed. Dangerous and mystical, magic has invaded our world. Fortunately, the Order or Merlin has learned enough to make it work for us. This is a catalogue of some of the high-impact magic in the world. Some of it is small enough to fit in the palm of our hand. Some of it is so large-scale that we can only see it by standing back to take in the big picture. All of it has profoundly affected the world and humanity's place in it. While the full catalog of magic in 1389 would go on for days, the items listed below were pivotal in helping humanity survive the angels long enough to face the Darkness. These are foundation upon which other creations were based. This is the kind of magic that influences policy and shapes diplomacy. Geographic-Scale Magic The Gates of Brissac * Portals have become a reality for late 14th century earth. There is instant travel between eastern and western hemispheres, as well as Europe to China. The largest concentration of these portals is in the headquarters city of the Plantagenets' own Royal Company, and this magical hub of world travel is known as [[Records: the Gates of Brissac|'The Gates of Brissac']]. The Aegis of Gaia * A system of shielding the entirety of earth, research for this was undertaken by the Order of Merlin at the behest of the angels, mostly out of concern over the intention and capacity of the Archangels. A system – [[Records: Aegis of Gaia|''The Aegis of Gaia]] – was built, seemingly over-engineered by orders of magnitude. Until it was discovered that it was just ''under the threshold of what was needed. While it prevented the end of the earth as a whole, the partial failure during Starfall led to massive swaths of destruction on the surface. Protective Warding * Technically, the Aegis of Gaia was the largest system of protective warding: a literal magical sphere around the planet. There were much smaller versions, however, and they came in various sizes, from city-protection, to castle-sized and smaller. The Order of Merlin is creating spinoff technology that blankets whole regions, with the likelihood that it may eventually cover the surface of the earth. Consumable Magic Not necessarily edible, this refers to the carrier of magic which is consumed by its use. For potions, that is a literal consumption. For other magic, that may be a one-time use or limited charges before some item or device is exhausted and needs to be replaced. Arcane Energized Crystals * This is the fuel that powers so much of the durable magic: [[Records: Arcane Energized Crystals|''Arcane Energized Crystals]] (or "AECs"). AECs are entirely synthetic stones that function similar to batteries or capacitors. There is a range of capacities and qualities within AECs, as well as particulars in the handling. Some are extremely safe while others can be profoundly unstable. Some have even used those instabilities to their advantage, turning tuned AECs themselves into potent explosives. Potion of Recollection * It's nearly a toss-up between [[Records: Potions of Recollection|'Potions of Recollection']] and Potions of Healing as to which has had a greater effect on humanity's fate. The Potions of Recollection give a period of time where a person will remember ''everything. This enhanced memory greatly enhanced learning, and was applicable where no Books of Learning or Pommels of Training had yet been programmed. It was also critical for certain Order of Merlin or Sergeant-at-Arms missions where detailed records of a sequence were critical but couldn't be logged until well after the fact. Scrolls of Correspondence * Communication in the late 14th century was either face-to-face or written word and (at best) a horse-mounted courier to physically carry a message. The creation of'' [[Records: Scrolls of Correspondence|'Scrolls of Correspondence']]'' allowed instant written communication over any distance. This was a toehold on changing the way people thought about communication itself, and the scrawled text messages have since been enhanced by other techniques that get information from one place to another at the speed of magic. Durable Magic The counterpart to consumable magic, these are devices, appliances and apparatus that can be recharged or refilled, or in a few rare cases, are effectively permanently energized. Glow Stone * The most common magical item on earth by a wide margin, a "[[Records: Glow Stones|'Glow Stone']]" is designed to do exactly what the title indicates: it's a stone that glows. In the context of the late 14th century, this is a safe, inextinguishable perma-candle... and it is life-changing for people around the world. The Glow Stone became a symbol of the Order of Merlin within the Commonwealth of the Magna Carta. Wand of Casting * If Glow Stones were a symbol of the OM and the CMC, then Wands of Casting (WoCs) were a symbol of the growth of magic into the hands of the common man. Most often powered by Arcane Crystals, the WoCs were a combination of utility, weapon and status symbol that began to give hope that humanity could survive the onslaught. Magical Motors * Often cited in the same breath as Wands of Casting, [[Records: magical motors|'Magical Motors']] are complex devices powered by the same means as the wands but that are designed with focused mechanical functions. Often simply the "production of torque," these magically-powered devices created an alternate industrial revolution without ripping coal from the ground or chopping down the forests. Rods of Water * There were dozens of magical items created that had a specialized function, including weapons such as "Wands of Fireballs" – but it was the "[[Records: Rods of Water|'Rods of Water']]" that defined the category of single-function devices. In this case, a Rod of Water magically created ("conjured," technically) water. This water, in most cases, was "magical water" – it was impermanent. Drinking impermanent water wasn't poisonous, but it wasn't recommended (one would suddenly dehydrate), but it was a godsend in fighting fires, cleaning, and creating ultra-fast curing concrete. MagiComms * An offshoot of magical wards, [[Records: the Rise of MagiComms|'MagiComms']] are standardized techniques that utilize magical repeaters to carry communication spells between locations. Originally, and what defines MagiComms, are spells that allow instant communication, but what they've learned from MagiComms have looped back in to power virtual magical devices, increase warding protections and so forth. Book of Learning * Of the specialized-function magical devices, perhaps none had more of an impact than the [[Records: Book of Learning|'Books of Learning']] (BoLs). These creations were extremely advanced magic and allowed a "carrier" to impart information to a subject. The book becomes the teacher and the reader becomes a student for an enhanced lesson that allowed BoL users to learn at an advanced rate. Pommel of Training * Similar to the BoLs, a "[[Records: Pommel of Training|'Pommel of Training']]" carried a similar instructional effect, but this memory-imprinting magic took a different pathway: through the body. This allowed training and education that was geared more toward imparting specific physical skills, such as single combat and use of ranged weapons. The concept could be adapted to any grip to teach agriculture (harvesting techniques), sanitation (cleaning techniques), or other contact surfaces, such as shoes, which would teach dancing, gymnastics, running or swimming techniques and so on. Category:Hall of Wonders Category:Hall of Records